Tamper foot mounting arrangement

ABSTRACT

A combination tamper foot and shank for use in a tamping machine for tamping ballast of a railroad bed or the like, comprising an elongated shank with means at one end for removably attaching the same to a tamping machine of conventional construction. A generally vertical flat transversely extending mounting surface is formed adjacent the lower end of the shank, and a tamping foot is removably secured to said surface. The foot is formed with opposite forward and rear faces and is of increased thickness adjacent the lower edge to provide increased strength and wear material thereat. The foot is secured to the shank with the mounting surface of the shank abutting the rear face of the foot. A plurality of spaced through holes are formed in the mounting surface of the shank for removably attaching the foot to the shank by machine screws which extend through the foot and threadedly engage the tapped holes in the shank. The screws may be cemented to the shank to prevent inadvertent loosening thereof during use of the tamper.

United States Patent [72] Inventors William A. Kruse 949 Reliez Station Road, Lafayette, 94549 Jan Max Crowell, 1514 Folger Drive, Belmont. Calif. 94002 21 1 Appl. No. 786,094 [22] Filed Dec. 23, 1968 [45] Patented June 1, 1971 [54] TAMPER FOOT MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 104/10, 94/49, 104/12, 173/90 [51] int. Cl ..E0lb 27/14, 1301c 19/32 [50] Field of Search..'. 104/10- [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,779,474 10/1930 Jackson 104/13 2,155,713 4/1939 Jargick..... 104/13 3,093,089 6/1963 Fleing 104/14 3,396,671 8/1968 Roseberry 104/13 1,813,295 7/1931 Jackson 104/12 2,536,887 H1951 Philbrick ABSTRACT: A combination tamper foot and shank for use in a tamping machine for tamping ballast of a railroad bed or the like, comprising an elongated shank with means at one end for removably attaching the same to a tamping machine of conventional construction. A generally vertical flat transversely extending mounting surface is formed adjacent the lower end of the shank, and a tamping foot is removably secured to said surface. The foot is formed with opposite forward and rear faces and is of increased thickness adjacent the lower edge to provide increased strength and wear material thereat. The foot is secured to the shank with the mounting surface of the shank abutting the rear face of the foot. A plurality of spaced through holes are formed in the mounting surface of the shank for removably attaching the foot to the shank by machine screws which extend through the foot and threadedly engage the tapped holes in the shank. The screws may be cemented to the shank to prevent inadvertent loosening thereof during use of the tamper.

Patented June 1, 1974' 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS m M! 7! M V Wm dn/v Max Clan I14 a9 BY Patented June 1, 1971 3,581,664

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mun roe; Mum/w A Kiwi J4 M41 Chan/I44 ATTORNEYS TAMPER FOOT MOUNTING ARRANGEMENT This invention relates to a tamping machine and more particularly to a combination shank and removable tamping foot for use in a tamping machine.

The invention is described hereinbelow for use with a tamping machine for tamping a ballast in a railroad bed, or the like. It will be understood, however, that the combination shank and tamping foot and the connecting means therebetween of this invention is not limited for use with railroad bed tampers but may be used with other type tampers as well.

Prior art tamping machines for tamping ballast in railroad beds comprise a wheeled vehicle which is movable along railroad tracks on the railroad bed to be tampered. The vehicle carries parallel rows of downwardly extending shanks with'a unitary foot formed at the lower end of each and having upper ends removably attached to vibrating means on the vehicles. In use, the tamping feet are lowered onto ballast and vibrated to firmly pack the ballast beneath the ties. Conventional tamp; ing elements are often formed of forged steel and wear rapidly in use with ballast, which may comprise gravel, crushed rock, or the like. With prior art tamping machines, when the tamping foot is sufficiently worn, the shank withthe unitary foot is removed from the machine and replaced. The worn tamping foot may be subsequently built up with new material for future use thereof. 'The material deposited on the foot may be somewhat harder than the original foot material to provide an increased foot life; however, even a rebuilt tamper foot has a relatively short life.

An object of this invention is the provision of a novel combination shank and detachable tamper foot for use in a tamping machine wherein the tamper foot is formed of a particular shape to increase longevity in use.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a tamper foot for use with a ballast tamping machine, which foot is formed of a harder material than the shank to which it is attached.

Still another object of this invention is theprovision of a rigid mounting arrangement for detachably securing a tamper foot to a tamper shank.

The above and other objects and advantages of this invention are achieved by use of a tamper shank having a removable tamper foot. The shank may be made of any suitable material such as steel or iron and may be formed in conventional manner, as by forging or the like. The tamper foot comprises a separate member removably attachedsto the lower end of the shank. It is made of hardened steel such as tool steel having a long useful life. When the foot is worn out, it is removed from the shank and replaced. Because of the long foot life, replacement thereof. is not often required and, as a result, downtime of the tamper machine for replacement is minimized.

The invention will be better understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts in the several views:

FIG. I is a perspective view showing a fragmentary portion of a railroad ballast tamping machine, which machine incorporates the novel tamping feet of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of tamper elements constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the same positioned adjacent a railroad tie;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the arrangement shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front elevational view of a combination tamper shank and foot embodying this invention;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the combination shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a tamper foot; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of the lower end of a shank showing a mounting surface to which the tamper foot is removably attached.

Reference is first made to FIG. I wherein there is shown a fragmentary broken line -view of a tamping machine I mounted on wheels 12 for travel along rails 14. The rails are attached by spikes 16 to crossties 18 which, in turn, rest upon ballast 20, all in a conventional manner. The ballast generally comprises gravel, crushed rock, or the like, which is firmly packed by the tamping machine 10.

Tamping of ballast is normally accomplished by tamper feet at the lower end of shanks disposed in parallel rows on opposite sides of a railroad tie. The present invention provides separate tamper feet 22 removably attached to shanks 24 disposed as stated above. A conventional tamping machine includes spaced frame members 26 shown in broken line view in FIG. 3, from each of which one row of shanks depends. The frame members 26 are vertically and longitudinally movable, and are vibrated in a conventional manner by means not shown. As is understood by those skilled in this art, the tamping machine is positioned along the tracks 14 with one row of shanks at each side of a tie 18. As the members 26 are vibrated they are lowered for insertion of the tamper feet into theballast, and then moved toward each other, thereby firmly packing the ballast beneath the tie 18 between opposite tamping feet. The tampers then are raised, the machine is moved along the track to the next tie, and tamping of the ballast thereat proceedsin the manner described above. In conventional tamping machines the tamping elements which engage the ballast are sufficiently worn that they require replacement after tamping approximately 1 or 2 miles of track bed. This requires a cessation of operation for periods of approximately 4 hours for every I or 2 miles traveled. The resultant downtime with conventional tampers greatly reduces the rate of tamping, and greatly increases the overall cost of the tamping operation.

With the present invention, the upper ends of the shanks 24 are of conventional designfor attachment of the shanks to the tamping machine in a conventional manner. The conventional connecting means for attachment of the shanks to the tamper include a tapered upper end of the shank and a keyway therein to receive a key 28,'as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. A threaded stud 30 extends from the upper end of the shank to receive a nut 32. The tamping machine includes a plurality of tapered holes not shown, into which the upper tapered shank portions fit and the shanks are secured in position by the nuts 32. Additional details of the connection between the shank and tamping machine are not included herein since the connection is of conventional design and this invention does not relate thereto.

With regard to the lower portion of the shank 24, it will be seen from FIGS. 4, 5 and 7 that a lateral extension 38 is provided integral with the shank. The shank barrel and extension are recessed to form a flat front mounting surface 34 with a top shoulder 36. This surface 34 is provided to mount the foot 22 and-three tapped holes 40 are provided in staggered position in this surface to receive machine screws 42 in threaded engagement therewith. Removable attachment of the tamper foot to the shank is described below.

It here will be noted that all of the illustrated tamping feet 22 are of similar design, and that they differ essentially only in the amount of lateral extension from the shank mounting. This is best seen in FIG. 2 wherein the feet 22are shown centrally mounted on the shanks, whereas feet 22A and 22B adjacent the rails extend outwardly away from the rails 14. A detailed description of only one tamper foot such as provided below is sufficient for purposes of disclosure of the present invention.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 wherein there is shown a tamping foot 22A embodying this invention. The foot comprises a vertical plate having front and rear faces 44 and 46, respectively, and upper and lower edges 48 and 50, respectively. A thickened portion or flange 52 is formed on the rear face 46 adjacent the lower edge 50 to provide added strength and materialthereat. The upper edge 54 of the flange abuts the bottom 56 of the shank 24 when secured thereto, as best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. Thus, the lower end of the foot which includes the flange 52 extends beneath the bottom of the shank to prevent wear of the shank end in use. The lower side 57 of the flange is beveled to facilitate entry of the foot into the ballast.

Holes 58 are formed through the foot in the upper portion thereof and are adapted for alignment with the tapped holes 40 in the shank. The holes 58 are countersunk to receive the heads of the machine screws 42 which attach the foot to the shank. The three holes are located in a staggered arrangement to reduce weakening of the foot which would result if the holes were arranged in a straight line. When the attached to the shank, the upper edge 48 of the foot abuts the shoulder 36 at the top of the recess in the shank, and the upper edge 54 of the foot flange abuts the bottom 56 of the shank. When the screws 42 are tightened the rear face 46 of the foot is brought into tight surface engagement with the mounting face 34 on the shank. An adhesive such as epoxy resin (not shown) may be provided in the tapped holes 40 to prevent inadvertent loosening of the machine screws 42 during use. lf required, during replacement, the shank end may be heated at the tapped holes 40 to a sufficiently high temperature to weaken the bond provided by the adhesive to facilitate removal of the screws 42 for replacement of the foot.

lt will be seen from the foregoing that the tamper foot and shank are firmly engaged when attached. The foot extends beneath the shank so that vertical forces applied to the foot during tamping are transferred to the shank by engagement of the foot and shank surfaces 54 and 56, respectively, as well as foot and shank surfaces 48 and 36, respectively. The substantial flat vertical mounting surfaces 34 and 48 of shank and foot, respectively, with the screws 42 therethrough, fully locks the shank and foot together. Thus maximized engagement of foot and shank are achieved consonant with maximum strength of connection and ready separability.

The tamping feet are made of hard steel such as tool steel. Preferably, but not necessarily, they are machined from bar stock of a suitable high alloy steel. Because of the hardness thereof, and the added thickness provided by the flange 52 adjacent the lower edge, the feet have an extremely long useful life. ln one tamping machine employing the novel hard steel tamping feet of this invention, approximately 30 miles of railroad bed were tamped before replacement of the feet became necessary. As mentioned above, the conventional prior art tamper elements require replacement after only 1 or 2 miles of bed tamped. The time required for replacement of the novel tamper feet is approximately the same as that required to change the conventional tamper elements. Consequently, the downtime for replacement of tampers of a tamping machine employing the feet of this invention is substantially less than that of prior art arrangements. In addition, the tamper feet may be formed in different sizes to accommodate different road beds. In new beds which have not been previously tamped, the ballast is loosely packed and larger size tamper feet may be employed for the initial tamping than are desired for use on beds which have previously been tamped.

The invention having been described in detail in accordance with the requirements of the Patent Statutes, various changes and modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in this art, and it is intended that such changes and modifications shall fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

I. A tamper foot and shank structure adapted to tamp ballast on the bed ofa railway, said structure comprising:

a, an elongated shank and a foot, the lower end of said shank being attached to the upper end of said foot, said lower and upper ends being formed with mating, open, L- shaped recesses, each said recess having a relatively short horizontal portion substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shank and a relatively long, flat, vertical portion substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shank, the uppermost end of said foot abutting said horizontal portion of the shank and the lowermost portion of aid shank abutting said horizontal portion of the foot, whereby forces acting on said foot in a vertical direction are transmitted from said foot in part to the lowermost end and in part to said horizontal portion of said shank, b. means securely but detachably mounting said foot on said shank, and

c. the lower end of the shank, including that part of the shank in which said L-shaped recess is formed, being of substantially greater width than the diameter of the shank and said foot having a width greater than the lower end of the shank.

2. A mobile gang-tamping machine comprising a reciprocable frame, flanged wheels supporting the frame, and adapting the machine to travel along the rails of a railway, and a plurality of tamping members as described in claim 1, including tamping members outwardly of the two rails, tamping members between the rails and tamping members on opposite sides of a tie. 

1. A tamper foot and shank structure adapted to tamp ballast on the bed of a railway, said structure comprising: a, an elongated shank and a foot, the lower end of said shank being attached to the upper end of said foot, said lower and upper ends being formed with mating, open, L-shaped recesses, each said recess having a relatively short horizontal portion substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shank and a relatively long, flat, vertical portion substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shank, the uppermost end of said foot abutting said horizontal portion of the shank and the lowermost portion of aid shank abutting said horizontal portion of the foot, whereby forces acting on said foot in a vertical direction are transmitted from said foot in part to the lowermost end and in part to said horizontal portion of said shank, b. means securely but detachably mounting said foot on said shank, and c. the lower end of the shank, including that part of the shank in which said L-shaped recess is formed, being of substantially greater width than the diameter of the shank and said foot having a width greater than the lower end of the shank.
 2. A mobile gang-tamping machine comprising a reciprocable frame, flanged wheels supporting the frame, and adapting the machine to travel along the rails of a railway, and a plurality of tamping members as described in claim 1, including tamping members outwardly of the two rails, tamping members between the rails and tamping members on opposite sides of a tie. 